Newcastle Eagles have taken a massive gamble by filling the final overseas slot on their roster with a player who was thrown out of his former club.

Mo Robinson was suspended and subsequently cut by Leicester Riders for a breach of club discipline towards the end of last season.

But Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy is so convinced that the powerfully-built 6ft 8in forward can prove the final piece in the jigsaw that he has put his neck on the block by giving Robinson the chance to resurrect his career.

But Eagles managing director Paul Blake admitted today: "I took a hell of a lot of convincing.

"It was only because Fab was so convinced that he was the right player that I went along with it.

"And, having talked to Mo over the last few weeks, I am not as concerned now as I was earlier."

After exhaustive checks Flournoy is satisfied that there were mitigating circumstances which led to the non-work permit player's contract being terminated by the Riders.

"Mo wasn't happy at Leicester during the second half of the season," said Blake. "Then he was upset when his grandfather died and at around the same time another club came in for Mo, which confused him even further.

"We have done as much as is humanly possibly to convince us that he is worth the risk considering he was cut from his team last season.

"If there is anyone who can deal with him it's Fab.

"But we won't tolerate any lack of performance from him - and let's just say that we have got paperwork in place to safeguard the club against any unforeseen circumstances."

Blake has also long been an admirer of Robinson's game but he admits that the 29-year-old from Little Rock, Arkansas, still has some questions to answer.

"There is no real question mark about his basketball ability as long he is worked real hard," he said. "But there is a question mark over the way he tends to start seasons well and then fade.

"He isn't necessarily the strongest defensive player game by game, but at the end of the day we have signed a player who averages 18 points and eight or nine rebounds per game."

And Blake said that Robinson has been told in no uncertain terms that he is drinking in the Last Chance saloon as far as his BBL career is concerned.

"Mo knows where he stands even before he has got on the plane, which is good," he said.

"He knows that if he doesn't perform for us then he isn't going to have a job in the future because no-one is going to pick up a player suspended by two clubs. At the moment I feel quite confident that it will work out OK.

"If it doesn't work out, we will bring someone else in in his place."

Robinson, who has also had spells with now-defunct clubs Derby Storm and London Leopards, will effectively be the sixth man in the Eagles rotation.

And it means a chance of emphasis for Newcastle who have replaced a perimeter shooter in Andrew Mavis with a player who will provide an inside threat.

An All Star player two seasons in a row, Robinson will make his debut in the Eagles' opening match of the BBL campaign at home to Sheffield Sharks at the Telewest Arena a week on Friday.